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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cabinet · club · rule · file · present · bark · net · tube

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. rule — government
  6. bark — to shout
  7. net — in sport
  8. tube — a container
  9. rule — a law
  10. club — for golf
  11. file — a line of people
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. present — a gift
  14. file — a tool
  15. net — for catching
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. club — a group
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. file — a document
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. net — after costs
  22. club — for dancing
  23. tube — the underground
  24. present — the time now

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com